UK Continues Support for NNSA Nuclear Nonproliferation Programs

Press Release

Jun 14, 2012

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) today announced that NNSA and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland will continue cooperation to secure vulnerable nuclear and radiological material and reduce nuclear threats around the world. Under an agreement signed with NNSA's Office of Global Threat Reduction (GTRI), the U.K. Global Threat Reduction Programme will provide the U.S. $3.5 million to support efforts in Uzbekistan, Belarus and Afghanistan.

The U.K. contribution will support nuclear and radiological security work in Uzbekistan, radiological security upgrades in Belarus, and radiological security training programs for Afghanistan. This is the third time that the U.K. has partnered with NNSA’s GTRI program, and the ninth time the U.K. has participated financially in NNSA’s nuclear nonproliferation programs. To date, NNSA’s partnership with the U.K. has provided $13,220,100 to GTRI and more than $26 million to NNSA’s other nonproliferation efforts around the world.

Financial and in-kind contributions from our international partners help augment NNSA programs aimed at securing vulnerable nuclear materials around the world, securing and disposing of dangerous nuclear and radiological materials, and preventing nuclear smuggling. In addition to the U.K., NNSA has received support from Canada, the Czech Republic, Finland, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway and the Republic of Korea to pursue nonproliferation efforts around the world, including:

More than $31 million to shut down the last remaining weapons-grade plutonium production reactors in Russia.

Nearly $30 million to reduce and protect vulnerable nuclear and radiological materials located at civilian nuclear sites worldwide.

More than $11 million to strengthen NNSA’s Second Line of Defense program.

GTRI works to reduce and protect vulnerable nuclear and radiological material located at civilian sites worldwide. GTRI achieves permanent threat reduction through converting research reactors and isotope production facilities from highly enriched uranium to low enriched uranium, removing and disposing of excess nuclear and radiological materials, and by protecting high priority nuclear and radiological materials from theft and sabotage.

Established by Congress in 2000, NNSA is a semi-autonomous agency within the U.S. Department of Energy responsible for enhancing national security through the military application of nuclear science. NNSA maintains and enhances the safety, security, reliability and performance of the U.S. nuclear weapons stockpile without nuclear testing; works to reduce global danger from weapons of mass destruction; provides the U.S. Navy with safe and effective nuclear propulsion; and responds to nuclear and radiological emergencies in the U.S. and abroad.